There it is one of the more questionable benefits of advancing age, c o l o n o s c o p y. Of all the unattractive prospects, this is on the A list. Or, maybe, your medical provider, recognizing you are not going to do the colonoscopy, or are not a candidate, offers a miniature camera for you to swallow. All good, but somebody's going to go fishing for the camera you just expelled. In the alternative, maybe your medical provider, or immense insurer, sends along a DIY fecal test sampling kit, to send to a lab. (My insurer sent me a letter saying they sent the kit, but never received it back. They wanted it. The answer was obvious. I sent them a letter stating, "If you people don't send me your shit, I cannot send you mine." That's just me.
Another thing that is just me is the purchase and consumption of bottles upon bottles of laxatives, and the trial by gut pain, which lasts until, at least, the morning after. Fear and loathing of hospitals runs this a close second for me. Anything short of death by MRSA or any gram negative infection is an uglier spectre than trial by gut-emptying torture for a night. Listen some things are at least as bad as death-by-nausea; these are two. Fear and Loathing in Conventional Medicine aside, there is plenty to consider, in terms of risks and benefits of colonoscopy. The miniature camera approach, obviously, does not permit the surgical elimination of polyps, if they are discovered in the colon. The fecal test is none too reliable; there is a chance of a false positive, a scary prospect. I can't quite imagine waiting to learn whether I have colon cancer, while going about my daily life.
So colonoscopy is still the "gold standard," one that comes with risk. Here is an article by Dr. Mercola regarding the risk of infection. It is clear, when instruments are neither discarded, following each single use, nor effectively disinfected (effectively being the keyword,) infection can and will occur. Of course this is separate from the risk of just being in the hospital setting. Please know and understand I am not, nor would I ever discourage people from getting tests their physicians recommend. However it is up to each of us, as a patient, to be savvy and informed. Here is a link to Dr. Mercola's article:
If you don't pick up on the "fear" of hospitals part, maybe that is good, or, just maybe you will become a clean freak during your hospital stay, and ask every person who enters your hospital room (or the room of a loved one) to wash his/her hands. However, if your doctor has ordered a colonoscopy, be prepared to ask what solution is used to clean the sigmoidoscope or colonoscope (not disposable devices.) Peracetic acid is the key; the solution used in 80% of cases is Cidex (glutaraldehyde;) it does not properly sterilize the instruments, allowing for the transfer of infectious microbes. Yep. You read me correctly ... all but 20% of providers/institutions use Cidex, THE SOLUTION WHICH IS LESS DESIRABLE.
Okay, then, and I trust you will not agonize over whether or not you returned the fecal sample to your provider's lab. Maybe you spared yourself some needless angst. Geez I wish this stuff, together with a battery of ineffective or likely false-positive tests, would get better. -Too much to ask?
This blog is, in large part, informational. It is for elders, their loved ones and caregivers.
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